Sexual differences of the effects of prenatal stress on the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinaseas in the hippocampus of offspring rats

BACKGROUND： Prenatal stress has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus and hippocampus, reduce hippocampal volume, and cause neuronal loss and oxidative damage in the hippocampus of offspring rats, but the sexual difference of the effects on offsprings is seldom referred to. OBJECTIVE： To observe the effect of prenatal stress to adult pregnant rats on expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinases （ERK） in hippocampus of the offspring rats of different genders. DESIGN ： A randomized and control animal experiment.SETTING： Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Xi＇an Jiaotong University. MATERIALS ： The experiments were carried out in the Key Laboratory of Environment and Gene Related Diseases （Xi＇an Jiaotong University）, Ministry of Education between October 2005 and March 2006. Fifteen female and five male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were adopted. Female rats weighing 230-250 g and male rats weighing 280-350 g were used. METHODS： The virgin female rats were placed overnight with adult male rats （3：1） for mating. A total of twelve pregnant rats were randomly assigned to prenatal stress group （PNS group, n=6） and control group （n=6）. The pregnant rats of the PNS group were exposed to restraint stress on days 14-20 of pregnancy three times a day, 45 minutes for each time . The restraint device was a transparent plastic tube （6.8 cm in diameter） with air holes for breathing and closed end. The length could be adjusted to accommodate the size of the animals. To prevent habituation of animals to the daily procedure, restraint periods were randomly shifted within certain time periods （8：00-11：00, 11：00-14：00, and 16：00-19：00）. After birth, offsprings of all groups were culled to 8-10 litters in each group and housed in the same animal room, and kept together with their biologic mothers. The pregnant rats of the control group were left undisturbed. On day 21, after all the offspring were weaned, male and female pups were separated and housed four in each cage respectively until test at 30 days of age. At the end of postnatal day 30, one male and female offspring rats from the same dam were selected with a random choice and a total of 24 animals from 12 different dams were used. The experimental rats were sacrificed by decapitation under anesthesia. Bilateral hippocampal tissues were isolated and homogenized in cold condition. Alkaline carbonate buffer （BCA） method was used to detect the concentration of extracellular signal-regulated kinases （ERK）, then mixed with loading buffer, the constant voltage was 100 V. Finally, BCIP/NBT staining and electrDphoresis were performed, the absorbance （A） value for the bands was detected with the Bandscan analytical software, and the expression of ERK in hippocampus of offspring rats of different genders in each group was quantitatively analyzed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The level of ERK expression in hippocampus of offspring rats of different genders in each group was observed.RESULTS： All the 24 offspring rats were involved in the analysis of results. ① The staining results of ERP activity in the extract of brain tissue detected with Western blotting technique and specific antibody analysis showed that the ERP in hippocampus of offspring rats had two subtypes of ERK-1 and ERK-2, and the latter was the main type.② Standardized by the average A value in the control group, the quantitative data of the general A value of total ERK showed that the expression of ERK-2 in hippocampus of female offspring rats was obviously higher in the PNS group than in the control group （A value： 126±6.76,100±4.89,P〈 0.01）. ③The expression of ERK-2 had no obvious difference between the female and male offspring rats in the control group.④ The expression of ERK-2 in hippocampus of male offspring rats was a little higher in the PNS group than in the control group （A value： 104±6.27,102±5.48,P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION ： PNS significantly affects the increase of ERK expression in hippocampus of female offspring rats, but has no obvious influence on that of male ones.

Effect of gender differences in distal femoral geometry on the clinical outcomes of total knee arthroplasty

Objective To investigate the effect of gender differences in distal femoral geometry on the clinical outcomes of total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Methods From March 2003 to October 2006,213 cases with 294 osteoarthritic knees who

Effect of Different Calcium Supplements on Bone Metabolism in Rats

Osteoporosis, characterized by loss of bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, results in enhanced bone fragility and increases risk of fractureIll. In China, the incidence of primary osteoporosis is as high as 50%-70% in 60-69 years old females and approximately 30% in 60-69 years old males[21, which is closely related with the low intake of calcium. According to the nationwide nutrition and health survey in 2002 in China, the average daily calcium intake of Chinese residents is 391 mg, accounting for 41% of the recommended calcium intake.

Effect of different therapies of Chinese medicine on the expressions of c-Fos and c-Jun proteins in hippocampus of rats with post-stroke depression

BACKGROUND ： c-fos and c-jun, the important immediate early genes （IEG）, are regarded as the markers for the location and function of neuronal activity, as well as the third signal messengers, they couple the stress stimulation and the gene expression in neuron, and hippocampus is involved in the process of signal transmission after stress stimulation induced depression. OBJECTIVE： To observe the therapeutic effects of Bushen Yiqi （tonifying kidney to benefit qi）, Huoxue Huayu （promoting blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis） and Ditan Kaiqiao （eliminating phlegm for resuscitation） on the expressions of c-Fos and c-Jun proteins in hippocampus and spontaneous behaviors of rats with post-stroke depression （PSD）, and compare the results with those of fluoxetine, which is known to have definite effect on depression. DESIGN： A randomized controlled tna SETTING ： Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine MATERIALS ： The trial was completed in Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January to July in 2003. Fifty-six healthy adult Wistar male rats of clean grade, weighing （250±50） g, were randomly divided into 7 groups with 8 rats in each group： control group, model group, forced swimming group, Bushen Yiqi group; Huoxue Huayu, Ditan Kaiqiao group and fluoxetine group. The Bushen Yiqi Tang contained Renshen, Huangqi, Heshouwu, Gouqi, Shudi, etc., crude drugs 1 800 g/L. The Huoxue Huayu Tang contained Danshen, Chuanxiong, Chishao, Yujin, etc., crude drugs 3 600 g/L. The Ditan Kaiqiao Tang contained Banxia, Danxing, Changpu, Yuanzhi, etc., crude drug 1 000 g/b METHODS： ① Except the control group and forced swimming group, rats in the other groups were made into PSD models by deligating the bilateral common carotid artedes permanently. ② Rats in the control group, model group and forced swimming group were intragastncally perfused by saline （3 mL for each time）; those in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Huayu, Ditan Kaiqiao group and fluoxetine group were intragastncally perfused with Bushen Yiqi Tang （18 g/kg）, Huoxue Huayu Tang （9 g/kg）, Ditan Kaiqiao Tang （9 g/kg） and fluoxetine （2.5 mg/kg） respectively, once a day. ③ At 55 days after model establishment, rats in the forced swimming group were managed according to the Porsolt＇s method. They were placed in water for 15 minutes, and then taken out and dned, no moving-time within 5 minutes was recorded at drying and 24 hours after drying. ④ Measurement of spontaneous behaviors： Except the forced swimming group, the spontaneous behaviors and activities （including horizontal and vertical movements） of rats were observed with the Open-Field method at 28, 42 and 56 days after administration in the other groups. ⑤ The expressions of c-Fos and coJun proteins in hippocampus were determined with the immunohistochemical method, the relative sectional area ratio and average objective gray value of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells in hip- pocampus were measured with the computerized image analytical system. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The spontaneous behaviors of rats, the relative sectional area ratio and average objective gray value of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells in hippocampus were observed. RESULTS： Of the 56 rats, 1 died in the forced swimming group, and finally 55 rats were involved in the analysis of results. ① Results of spontaneous activities： At 28 days, the times of crossing movements were obviously fewer in the model group and fluoxetine group [（69.00±37.01）, （98.11 ±36.68） times/3 minutes] than in the control group [（128.44±16.85） times/3 minutes, P 〈 0.01, 0.05], but those in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group had no obvious differences as compared with those in the control group （P 〉 0.05）. At 42 and 56 days, the times of crossing movements were obviously more in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group [（106.44±31.24）, （117.20±23.95）, （134.80±28.18）, （136.36±40.95） times/3 minutes; （117.33±35.91）, （129.60 ±23.78）, （131.90 ±26.81）, （136.09±28.34） times/3 minutes] than in the model group [（64.00±17.51）, （72.86±20.68） times/3 minutes, P 〈 0.01]. The times of rearing movements had no obvious differences among the groups for the three times （P 〉 0.05）. ② The no moving-time within 5 minutes 24 hours after drying was obviously longer than that at drying in the forced swimming group. ③ The average objective gray values of c-Fos positive cells were not obviously different in the Bushen Yiqi group and Ditan Kaiqiao group from the control group （P 〉 0.05）, but lower in the model group than in the control group （69.84±9.82, 75.78±5.89, P 〈 0.01）, and higher in the forced swimming group than in the control group （85.97±10.99, P 〈 0.01）; all higher in the fluoxetine group, Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the model group （81.27±10.73, 74.04±8.34, 83.29±9.89, 70.14±4.92, P 〈 0.05-0.01）. The average objective gray values of c-Jun positive cells were obviously lower in the Bushen Yiqi group than in the control group （68.11 ±6.89, 79.58±5.86, P 〈 0.01）, but all higher in the other groups than in the control group （84.68±7.15, 81.34 ±8.36, 97.51±10.55, 85.68±9.25, 86.19±10.98, P 〈 0.05-0.01）; Those were obviously higher in the fluoxetine group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the model group （P 〈 0.05-0.01 ）, lower in the Bushen Yiqi group than in the model group （P 〈 0.05）, all obviously lower in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the fluoxetine group （P 〈 0.01）. The relative sectional area ratios of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells had no obvious differences among the groups （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION ： The methods of Bushen Yiqi, Huoxue Quyu and Ditan Kaiqiao can effectively treat PSD in rats, and the results were equivalent with those of fluoxetine, the actions of the above-mentioned drugs may correlated with their regulation to c-Fos and c-Jun expressions in hippocampus. PSD animal models can be successfully established by both permanent deligation of bilateral common carotid arteries and forced swimming, and the models induced by the former has similar basic cerebrovascular lesions as human stroke in clinic.

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT WAVEFORM'S ALTERNATING CURRENT ON THE INCISION'S SENSITIVITY

Compared with the conventionally used i=iosinωt alternating current, using asymmetric triangular and pulse wave as input signals can greatly enhance the incision's sensitivity of 'dE/dt-E'oscillogram.

THE REMAINDER－EFFECT ANALYSIS OF FINITE DIFFERENCE SCHEMES AND THE APPLICATIONS

In the present paper two contents are enclosed .First ,the Fourier analysis approach of the dispersion relation and group velocity effect of finite difference schemes is discussed.the defects of the approach is pointed out and the correction is made;Second,a new systematic analysis method -remaider -effect analysis (abbr.REAM)is proposed by means of the modified partial differential equations (abbr MPDE)of finite difference schemes.The analysis is based on the synthetical study of the rational dispersion-and dissipation relations of finite difference schemes.And the method clearly possesses constructivity

Effect of percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation on different neuropathic pains

BACKGROUND: The clinical treatment of neuropathic pain is very troublesome, and the physical method of radiofrequency thermocoagulation is a good choice for its treatment. OBJECTIVE: To observe the curative effect of percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation on neuropathic neuralgia. DESIGN: A case follow-up analysis. SETTING: Minimally Invasive Surgery Room, Department of Neurosurgery, Urumqi General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA. PARTICIPANTS: Totally 131 patients were selected from the Department of Neurosurgery, Urumqi General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA from December 2000 to June 2006, including 73 males and 58 females, aging 37-72 years old, AND the disease course was 2-15 years. ① Drug treatment failed to alleviate the pain or induced obvious side effects; ② With the same pathological changes as pain and effective in the nerve block test; Had signed the informed consents before treatment. Distribution of the neuropathic pain: ① Trigeminal neuralgia, which were lighting attack, located at V2 in 28 cases, V3 in 46 cases, V1+V2 in 3 cases, V2+V3 in 28 cases, and V1+V2+V3 in 1 case; ② Migraine located at (except the frontal branch of trigeminal nerve) greater and lesser occipital nerves in 6 cases, auriculotemporal nerve in 3 cases, temporal and zygomatic nerves in 3 cases; ③ Unilateral neuralgia of C2 and C3 following herpes zoster in 1 case, and chest intercostals neuralgia in 2 cases; ④ Lasting burning pain in the operative area after thoracotomy was in 1 case of lung cancer. METHODS: ① All the enrolled patients were treated with percutaneous puncture at trigeminal ganglion or peripheral nerve, then nerve block was performed firstly for anesthesia, and the pain disappeared immediately at this moment, there was hypoesthesia or numbness in the area of innervation, which manifested the puncture apposition was correct, then electrostimulation of 50 Hz with the current of 0.1-0.5 V was given for further functional localization. ② The RFG-3C radiofrequency therapeutic instrument (Radionics, USA) was used, the tip of the radiofrequency electrode was exposed for 5 mm, the temperature was kept at 80-85 ℃, 30-60 for each time, and treated for 3 or 4 times. The neuralgia following herpes zoster could also be treated by thermocoagulation at several points. ③ Evaluation standards for the therapeutic efficacy: Excellent meant the pain disappeared completely without taking any anodyne. Good referred to the pain was alleviated as compared with the preoperative one, and it could be effectively controlled by anodyne at relapse, but radiofrequency therapy was unnecessary. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Therapeutic efficacy of neuropathic neuralgia of different types after treatment of percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation. RESULTS: All the 131 patients were involved in the final analysis of results, no one missed. ① Therapeutic efficacy: In the 24-month follow-up, the therapeutic efficacy was excellent in 106 cases (80.9%), good in 21 cases (16.0 %) and had no change in 4 cases (3.1%). For 13 of the patients with trigeminal neuralgia, the pain relapsed after the lesion of peripheral branches, and it disappeared after the second treatment. The treatment was invalid for 1 patient with lung cancer suffering from pain in the operative area after thoracotomy, and the pain was alleviated by spinal cord stimulation. The pain disappeared after treated for 3 times in the patients with cervical neuralgia following herpes zoster. ② The pain relapsed in 28 cases (21.4%) at 12 months of the follow-up. ③ Adverse events and side effects: Except the hypoesthesia of different severity at the site of pain, there was no other complication after treatment. CONCLUSION:The follow-up results showed that percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation is one of the effective methods for treating neuropathic neuralgias of various types.

Effect of intervention treatment from different stages on prognosis in children with central coordination disturbance

BACKGROUND： Central coordination disturbance is regarded as the early-stage symptom of brain injury-induced cerebral palsy. This disease manifests itself as motor disorder, abnormal attitudinal reflex and muscular tension. Early intervention may improve its prognosis. OBJECTIVE： To observe the effects of intervention treatment from different stages on the prognosis of central coordination disturbance following brain injury in children patients. DESIGN： A contrast observation experiment SETTING： Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation, Urumqi Children＇s Hospital PARTICIPANTS ： Totally 151 children who were diagnosed as central coordination disturbance from January 2002 to December 2003 in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation of Urumqi Children＇s Hospital were recruited. All the children patients, including 101 male and 50 female, aged from 3 months to 1 year old, met the diagnosis criteria of central coordination disturbance from Vojta. They were divided into slight, moderate and severe abnormity according to Vojta attitudinal reflex. All 151 patients were divided into 2 groups according to their age at diagnosis： 3-6 months old group （n=74）, 62 severe, 10 moderate and 2 slight; 7-12 months old group （n=77）, 66 severe, 7 moderate and 4 slight. All the relatives of children patients were informed of the experiment. METHODS： ① Both groups received physical training （PT） as the main treatment; Hand training was given if necessary. All of the patients received additional hyperbaric oxygen therapy, bioelectric therapy, scalp acupuncture, drug treatment and family training. The importance of integration of hospital and family based rehabilitation was stressed. Those who did not catch up with the normal development or had abnormal reflexes continued to receive treatment. ② Around the age of 2 years old, all children did a final evaluation using Bayley Scales of Infant Development （BSID）. Mental development index （MDI） and physical development index （PDI） were taken as evaluative criteria. Children with scores 80 and above on MDI and PDI were considered to have normal motor and mental development; 79 and below were considered delayers. The Diagnostic Criteria of Cerebral Palsy and Infantecondary School Social Adaptation Scale were used in the final evaluation[scores ≤5 was extremely severe （extremely severe cerebral palsy）, 6 was severe（severe cerebral palsy）, 7 was moderate（moderate cerebral palsy）, 8 was slight（slight cerebral palsy）, 9 was borderline（slight cerebral palsy）, 10 was normal, 11 was above average, 12 was excellent and ≥13 was extremely excellent]. ③ Final evaluative results of 2 groups were compared. And u test was used for the comparison of Bayley development index and Chi-square test for the comparison of normalization rate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： BSID MDI and PDI as well as the normalization rate of motor function and mental behavior of children patients at 2 years old. RESULTS： Totally 151 children patients entered the stage of result analysis. ①Two groups of children patients were given integrated rehabilitation therapy , and evaluated at 2 years old . The 3-6 months old group had higher MDI and PDI than the 7-12 months old group （91.81＋19.99 vs 71.93＋18.98;91.55＋23.61 vs 68.95＋23.51, u=6.265,5.894,P 〈 0.01 ）.②After being given integrated rehabilitation therapy, children patients of 3-6 months old group had significantly higher normalization rate of motor function and mental behavior than 7-12 months old group （73% ,27%,X2=29.723 9,P 〈 0.01 ）. ③Six slight and 17 moderate central coordination disturbance children of 2 groups all completely recovered; After intervention treatment, among 128 severe central coordination disturbance children, 52 recovered and 76 were still abnormal, in which, 43 slight cerebral palsy, 18 moderate cerebral palsy, 5 severe cerebral palsy and 10 extremely severe cerebral palsy. CONCLUSION： To perform integrated intervention treatment before 6 months old can better improve and promote mental and physical development levels of children patients with central coordination disturbance after brain injury than 6 months later.

Analysis of genetic effects and correlations for nutrient quality traits of indica rice in different environments

Understanding the variation for the expressionof genes in different environments is one of themajor goals in qualitative genetics. In this pa-per, the genetic models for quantitative traitsof endosperm in cereal crops were used to eval-uate the seed, cytoplasm and maternal geneticeffects as well as the genotype × environment(GE) interaction effects, and to predict thebreeding value of parents and genotypic corre-lation for nutrient quality traits of indica rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The effect of different staining agents on the staining intensity of esterase isozyme zymogram of rice

Almost all previous reports on plant esterase(EST)isoenzyme analysis appeared to have ac-cepted that the relative staining strength(RSS)ofelectrophoretical bands represented the relative ac-tivities and contents of the correspondingisoenzymes.Nevertheless,we found in studyingthat the RSS changed with different staining

The effect of different irrigation patterns on rice yield and water consumption

The ecological and physiological water require-ment of rice and rice yield was studied underthree irrigation patterns, which were A: moistirrigation, remains 70-90% of saturated soilwater content except 3-4 cm deep water layerin tillering stage in paddy; B: flood irrigation,remains 4-5 cm deep water layer except 80%relative water content in the late tillering stage

The effect of different doses of vecuronium on respiratoty function and mechanics during laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Objective To investigate the effects of different doses of vecuronium on ventilatory function and mechanics of breathing during elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods Sixty - three ASA Ⅰ - Ⅱ patients aged 29 -57 yr were randomly divided into 3 groups of twenty-one: group Ⅰ received vecuronium 1 ± ED95 , group Ⅱ 2 ± ED95 and group Ⅲ ± ED95. Patients with respiratory disease were excluded. The patients were premedicated with intramuscular scopolamine 0 . 3 mg and oral diazepam 0 . 1 mg· kg-1 . Anesthesia was induced with fentanyl 2 μg ·kg-1 ,propofol 2 mg·kg-1 and succinylcholine 1. 5 mg· kg-1 and maintained with 1.0% -1.5% isoflurance and intermittent iv boluses of propofol 1 mg·kg when needed. Vecuronium 1 ± ED95 ( group Ⅰ ) or 2 ± ED95 (group Ⅱ ) or 3 ± ED95 (group Ⅲ ) was given iv after succinylcholine when TOF showed that T1 】 70 % . The patients were mechanically ventilated. VT was set at 10 ml ·kg-1 and respiratory rate at 12 bpm. End-tidal PCO2 was maintained at 30 -

Effect of Acetaldehyde on Oxidoreductases in Tissues of Rats at Different Ages

The toxicity of acetaldehyde and age related changes on oxidoreductases in the liver,brain, kidney, and musele of female albino rats (Wistar strain) were studied. The specific activities of lactate [LDH], isocitrate [ICDH (NAD/NADP)], succinate [SDH], malate [MDH], glutamate [GDH] and glucose-6-Phosphate [G-6-PDH] dehydrogenases were signifieantly inereased as a function of age. However, acetaldehyde treatment significantly inhibited oxidoreductases in the tissues of 21, 90 and 180 day old rats. Liver enzymes of young (21 days) rats exhibited greater sensitivity to acetaldehyde toxicity. Similar inhibition of oxidoreductases in brain and kidney of adult (180 days) rats treated with acetaldehyde was observed. LDH and GDH as compared to other enzymes studied showed higher susceptibility to acetaldehyde toxicity. The differential sensitivity of tissues and inhibition of oxidoreductases by acetaldehyde as a function of age could be attributed to hypoxic conditions, energy crisis, and mitochondrial structural changes. The results suggest that acetaldehyde affects oxidation of glucose via HMP shuni pathway, glycolytic pathway and Krebs cycle resulting in the impairment of carbohydrate metabolism

Effects on the Behavior and Neuroimmunity of Pulsed Microwaves with Different Peak Densities

Pulsed microwaves are widely used inradar,navigation, and communication. The average power density is low at narrow pulse widths or large pulse intervals,but pulsed microwaves at certain peak densities exert numerous biological effects, including

Analysis of genetic effects and heritabilities for amylose content of indica rice in different environments

An understanding of the genetic effects of em-bryo genes for rice quality traits is of impor-tance for rice quality improvement. Analysisof embryo, endosperm, cytoplasmic, and ma-ternal genetic effects and genotype×environ-

The anodically polarized Mg surface products and accelerated hydrogen evolution

To clarify the anodic dissolution mechanism of Mg,the hydrogen evolution from pure Mg in acidic solutions under galvanostatic conditions were systematically measured.With increasing anodic current density,the cathodic hydrogen evolution rate decreased,and the anodic hydrogen evolution became faster while some surface area on the Mg was becoming dark under anodic polarization.Based on the surface analysis results and the generally accepted basic electrochemical equations,the evolution kinetics of hydrogen from Mg was deduced,and the most possible surface intermediate active species that could facilitate the anodic Mg dissolution and anodic hydrogen evolution were proposed.This paper further develops the model of incomplete film Mg^(+) dissolution,explains many reported experimental phenomena,and clarifies misunderstandings of current mechanism.